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Ambush of Palestro
ALN | combatant2 = | commander1 = Ali Khodja | commander2 = Hervé Artur | units1 = | units2 = | strength1 = 40 ManUn succès retentissant du commando Ali Khodja, Embuscade du 18 mai 1956 dans les gorges de Lakhdaria (read online) | strength2 = More than 21 Troupes de marine | casualties1 = unknown, generally assessed to 1 deathBranche 2010, p. 25. | casualties2 = 17 dead 2 missing 1 prisoner killed 1 prisoner releasedBranche 2010, p. 7 | campaignbox = }} The ambush of Palestro, or ambush of Djerrah, took place on May 18, 1956, during the Algerian war, near the village of Djerrah in the region of Palestro (now Lakhdaria) in Kabylie during which a section of about forty men from the National Liberation Army (ALN), under the command of Lieutenant Ali Khodja, ambushed a section of 21 men from the 9th Colonial Infantry Regiment of the French Army, commanded by Second Lieutenant Hervé Artur. The confrontation resulted in the loss of almost all French soldiers; only one survived. The losses on the Algerian side are unknown, but estimated to have been one dead and possibly one wounded, perhaps a few dead. Historical context After 1 November 1954, Algeria was at war. As the armed insurgency led by the FLN grew in size, the French army's numbers fell, because Moroccan troops were returning to their independent country, the release of the troops under the contingent's flags and increasing desertions of Algerian spahis and tirailleurs. The president of the Council Guy Mollet resolves to recall the available of the contingent in order to increase the military strength in Algeria of 200 000 soldiersJean-Charles Jauffret, "Le mouvement des rappelés en 1955–1956", in Mohammed Harbi and Benjamin Stora, La Guerre d'Algérie, Paris, Robert Laffont, Pluriel collection, 2004, p. 202-203. Recently elected to ensure "peace in North Africa," he nevertheless planned a repressive policy and refused any negotiation on independence until a ceasefire was reached; and for the first time a socialist government, supported by the Communists, decides to send the contingent.François Buton, « Quand les disponibles ne veulent pas l’être. Le « Mouvement des rappelés » pendant la guerre d’Algérie », dans André Loez et Nicolas Mariot, Obéir/désobéir : les Mutineries de 1917 en perspective, La Découverte, 2008, 448 p. ( , read online archive), p. 2. In May 1956, the first recalled landed in Algeria. The FLN, for its part, organized in September 1955, very shortly after the events of Constantine, one of its first operations of propaganda, Abane Ramdane, head of the zone of Algiers inviting in the maquis of Palestro the journalist Robert Barrat, to whom are presented the claims of the independence movement; Barrat also meets with djounoud, or soldiers of the NLA.Branche 2010, p. 16-17. The protagonists The ambush pitted the French Army with the Algerian National Liberation Army with, on the French side, a section of the 2nd Battalion of the 9th Colonial Infantry RegimentBranche 2010, p. 20-21. commanded by Second Lieutenant Hervé Artur and on the Algerian side a part of the Ali Khodja commando, several groupsUn groupe est composé de onze hommes, un sergent et deux caporaux (Branche 2010, p. 24). with a total of some forty djounouds according to certain sources. Staff of the ALN wilaya 4, 1956–1957. Ali Khodja was born in Algiers on January 12, 1933, and in October 1955, three of them deserted from the Hussein Dey barracks, carrying with them several weapons. Having joined the maquis of Palestro, led by Amar Ouamrane, Khodja was entrusted with the command of a section of the ALN, strong of one hundred men,Branche 2010, p. 24. who quickly distinguished himself by his actions, 9 later becoming the commando Ali Khodja one of the legends of the ALN.Benjamin Stora, Les mots de la guerre d'Algérie, Toulouse, Presses universitaires du Mirail, 2005, 127 p. ( , read online archive), p. 38-39. In order to recover weapons and clothing, the Khodja unit, like all other units of the NLA at that time, favored ambushes, which were executed in accordance with the motto "Strike, Recover and StallBranche 2010, p. 23, 25.". Hervé Artur was born in Paris on September 17, 1926; after his military service in Algeria, he prepares an aggregation of philosophy which he abandons for a job in a transport company; At the end of April 1956 he was called back to his service and served with the rank of second lieutenant in the 9th Colonial Infantry Regiment stationed in Kabylie.Branche 2010, p. 44, 239. This officer, who believes in the pacification of the French army, is in command of a section of twenty infantry consisting of two sergeants, two corporals, two corporals, and fourteen soldiers,Bigot et Chorliet, sergents, Galleux et Aurousseau, caporaux-chefs, Poitreau et Hecquet, caporaux, Desruet, Dufour, Caron, Dobœuf, Gougeon, Carpentier, Serreau, François, Villemaux, Chicandre, Nicolas, Daigneaux, David-Nillet et Dumas, soldats (Branche 2010, p. 239-242). in the civilian.Branche 2010, p. 44. On the morning of 18 May, he went on a reconnaissance mission to the villages near Ouled Djerrah. See also * Algerian War * Battle of Bouzegza * Battle of Algiers References Sources and bibliography *Raphaëlle Branche, L’Embuscade de Palestro : Algérie 1956, Paris, Armand Colin, 2010, 256 p. ( , read online archive). *François Buton, « Peut-on dévoiler les imaginaires ? Questions sur l'interprétation d'un massacre », Le Mouvement Social, vol. 1, no 238,‎ 2012, p. 81-86. *Raphaëlle Branche, « Le récit historique et les intentions des acteurs. Réponse à François Buton », Le Mouvement Social, vol. 1, no 238,‎ 2012, p. 87-93. *Raphaëlle Branche, « 18 mai 1956 : l'embuscade de Palestro/Djerrah », dans Abderrahmane Bouchène, Jean-Pierre Peyroulou, Ouanassa Siari Tengour et Sylvie Thénault, Histoire de l'Algérie à la période coloniale : 1830–1962, Paris, Alger, Éditions La Découverte et Éditions Barzakh, 2012, 717 p. ( ), p. 514-519. *Ugo Iannucci, Soldat dans les gorges de Palestro. Journal de guerre, Aléas, 2 Documentaries *2012 : Palestro, Algérie : histoires d'une embuscade, de Rémi Lainé et Raphaëlle Branche (d'après Raphaëlle Branche), durée 1 h 25, coproduction : ARTE France, Les Poissons Volants watch online , on arte.tv, 19 mars 2012, consulted in 20 septembre 2013 archive External links *« Palestro, Algérie : histoires d'une embuscade » archive, sur le site de la Ligue des droits de l'homme, section de Toulon archive, 14 mai 2012 (consulté le 21 septembre 2013). *« La conférence de presse du rescapé Pierre Dumas » archive, Journal d'Alger du 27 et 28 mai 1956. *Jean Taousson, « Palestro 1956 : le massacre des rappelés », Historia magazine, no 216,‎ 21 février 1972, p. 713-719. *Michel Sabourdy, « 18 mai 1956, Palestro, 20 morts : notre camarade Pierre Dumas, seul rescapé, raconte », L'Ancien d'Algérie, no 117,‎ juin 1974, p. 12 (read online archive). *« Défilés et gorges d'Algérie » archive vidéo, sur ina.fr, Les Actualités Françaises, 1er janvier 1949 (consulted on 2 juin 2013). *«Kabylie 60 » archive vidéo, sur ina.fr, Télévision Alger, 1er avril 1962 (consulted on 2 juin 2013). *Avoir peur de Palestro archive, disponible en téléchargement gratuit sur Internet Archive. *« Si Azzedine » archive vidéo, sur ina.fr, Antenne 2, journal télévisé 20 h, 28 novembre 1981 (consulted on 21 juin 2013). Category:Conflicts in 1956 Category:Algerian War Palestro 1956 Palestro 1956 Palestro 1956 Category:Guerrilla wars Category:History of Algeria Category:Urban warfare Category:1956 in France Category:1956 in Algeria Category:20th century in Algeria